Show B Bruckart's Bruckart s Washington Digest Small Telephone Companies Hit By Application o of Labor Law Again the People Are Made l Victims of Too Much Government Gov Gov- c Act Forces Small Industries Into Spot Where There They Cannot Do Business or Hire B WILLIAM vILLIAM BRUCKART By NU Service N National Press Washington D. D C. C WASHINGTON On President Roosevelt's Roosevell's list of must legislation legislation legislation legisla legisla- tion a year or so ago ngo was a bill bell that when it eventually became a n Labor law was called the Fair Standards Act of 1938 It was made to apply to all business crossing state lines or to products thus manufactured manufactured man man- that went into channels of trade outside of the state where they were produced It set certain rates of minimum pay and established a limitation on the number of hours workers could continue on the job Everyone refers to it now as ns the wages and hours law At the time of the appointment of Elmer F. F Andrews as wages and hours administrator I discussed the potential success or failure that la lay ahead for such a law In looking over my flies files of the time I found that I wrote concerning the law that Mr Andrews can either make or break it by the policies he adopts and the interpretations he makes of the laws law's provisions I Isaid Isaid Isaid said also that he must use great care in the selection of subordinates All of which leads into discussion of a situation that has arisen respecting respecting respecting re re- re- re application of the law to several industries Generally too it forces a conclusion that here is just another law under which government government government gov gov- is interfering in the normal living of people As usual the people people people peo- peo peo peo- are the victims of too much gov gov- While there are several lines of industry about which I want to write in this analysis the most flagrant misgovernment and the most damaging damaging damaging dam dam- aging result as far as I can see is the application of the wages and hours law to the little known but widely used small independent telephone telephone telephone tele tele- phone companies I am referring to that type of telephone comp company ny which serves the small towns towns and villages and the farmers who live around those small yet very essential essential essential essen essen- trading centers Nearly Independent Telephone Companies in U. U S. S When I heard that some of the subordinates in Mr Andrews' Andrews agency agency agency agen agen- cy were determined to apply the provisions of the wages and hours law to the independent telephone I began around for information about them I am acquainted with those units of service I know what it is to turn the crank on In the big box that tha t hangs on the wall in order to ring a neighbor on a party line it is not an unfamiliar fact either cither to hear of ot how the switchboard located located located lo lo- in somebody's home in the village closes down at nine o'clock at night and no one is supposed to ring unless it is a case of sickness or other emergency I was stunned however to realize realize realize real real- ize that there are arc nearly such companies in the United States Nor was I prepared to understand alonce at al once that there are approximately stations or subscribers to those companies If we figure an average family as five we arrive at the conclusion obviously that nearly persons depend upon that type of service The wages and hours administration tra- tra tion does not pr propose pose to apply the law to all of these it eliminated more than half haU of the total but a bunch of the smart boys under Mr Andrews have decided the law should apply to such compa compa- nies They decided the law can be applied even though the companies are arc entirely within the confines ota of ot ofa ofa a county in most Instances because the little switchboards are able to tomake make a connection with long distance distance distance dis dis- tance companies It may not happen happen happen hap hap- pen more than five times a month but the little company is doing interstate interstate in business Hence your Uncle Uncle Uncle Un Un- cle Sam acting through the bureaucrats bureau proposes to tell the local companies companies com com- they must pay the wages designated by the federal law and limit the hours of those who earn their living that way W Would auld Force Companies to Increase Their Rales Rates Now I 1 am thoroughly familiar tam with the limitation of opportunities of emp employment for women and girls in the small towns I know that the small telephone companies employ them as operators or they employ somebody not physically able to do other types of work The pay is small but it provides a comfortable living in most cases Perhaps the pay ought to be higher but if the pay is higher the town and country subscribers will have to pay more The reason those companies succeed and md render the valuable service that thatis is is rendered is because they hold down expenses and provide service at a dollar or around that figure p per r m month nth One realizes better what J J that rate means when a comparison is is offered of the five or six dollars per month charged in cities Should the smart boys in the wages and hours haUls administration get getaway getaway getaway away with t their program it would mean that a small exchange would have to increase the pay for opera opera- tors The minimum for operators I would be 2190 a year instead of whatever rate now is paid and it would mean mean moreover that there would have to be three or four op op- op- op That is to say no operator could work more than Ulan 42 hours per week week week-a a seven-hour seven day of ot a six- six day week And what would that mean Every Everyone one of those companies companies companies compa compa- nies would be forced to collect three or four tour times as much per month from the subscribers or close down the system Then to show how widespread the effect would be let me cite the number number number num num- ber of exchanges in in a few states Iowa Illinois Alabama Arkansas Indiana Maine Michigan Minnesota Minnesota Minnesota Minne- Minne sota Missouri and Texas It is to be remembered that these are purely local companies W Whatever number of exchanges are operated in those states by the Bell Telephone company are in addition I But we are not concerned with the I IBell Bell system That outfit is big enough to fight its own battles I Cannot See What They Arc Are Doing to the Country Why these smart boys cannot see what they are arc doing to the country is ISa a question which I cannot answer anser i Either they are utterly dumb or they I Iare are promoting the organization work for passage of the wages and hours law The C. C I. I O. O certainly has demonstrated it does docs not belong in inthe inthe inthe the list of real American organizations organizations organizations but it still has political power The connection with C. C I. I O. O agitation agitation agitation tion might be traced through the fact that the law contains a provision provision provision provi provi- sion permitting a worker to sue for damages if the employer in this case the telephone company compels compels compels com com- violation of the law by forcing overtime work The political phases of the situation situation situa situa- tion are quite important b because cause of the vast number of voters directly affected I do not mean to say that Senator Herring and Representative e Harrington both of Iowa have introduced introduced introduced intro intro- bills to exempt the local companies companies companies com com- from purely political mo mo- tives s. s But But I suspect that the political pressure will cause many members of ot the house and the senate to favor passage of those bills I have mentioned heretofore how often the officials of the theS S government those government those appointed by the President or his subordinates- subordinates either cither have ignored political history or they know nothing about political history The case case of the independent ent telephone companies is a splendid splendid splendid did illustration Lately the little independent steel companies have felt the dead hand of government through the same law I am not informed as to all aU details of their case but there were 44 eastern independent steel companies companies companies compa compa- nies appeared recently before the prop propaganda ganda spreading temporary national economics committee seeking seeking seeking seek seek- ing relief relict The independent steel companies are to the great steel manufacturers as DS the little independent ent telephone companies arc are to the Bell system The wages and hours law will wreck them they told the national economics committee which has come to be known as the monopoly monopoly mo mo- investigation Forces Industry Into Spot Where It Cannot Do Business I If It those little fellows have to meet wages and hours set for them by Miss Perkins secretary of labor to whom Mr Andrews is subordinate the steel people say they will go broke Or at least they charged they could get no government contracts contracts contracts con con- tracts because of failure to comply with the law Since the government is spending billions of dollars to create employment and for general relief elief I l can not help wondering why it wants to force one segment of industry into a spot where it cando cando can cando do no business and employ labor The whole thing however howe gets more cockeyed as time tones cones on There seems to be no limit to the lengths to which bureaucrats drunk with power will go in abusing the nation Who was there that did not express express' the greatest disgust at the story which came out of New York city the other day I refer refer refer re re- re- re fer to the problem before the New NewYork NewYork NewYork York state labor board which was called upon to decide whether a professional professional professional pro pro- woman model was fired because she had been active as a union organizer or because her hips I were too wide The woman claimed she had been fired because bec lUse she was trying to organize a union of mod mod- els Her former employers said her hips were too broad to properly wear the clothes they wished to display While the story is not lacking Jacking in humor it must b be treated seriously serious serious- ly because the width of f this girls girl's hips may yet be a question of na national n national na- na t- t importance It is a fact tact and not a D that the national la labor labor labor la- la bor relations board may yet be called upon to measure those hips and determine as judges of ot fashion I whether she can cani properly display the latest mode of If spring apparel 0 Western rn Newspaper Union |